Chinese state media lashes out over oil spill

Official Chinese media on Sunday accused a major state energy company of failing to disclose full and immediate information about an oil spill from a rig off its northeastern coast. Oil has been seeping into the Gulf of Bohai since mid-June, but the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) waited until July 1 to confirm details of the accident to investors, China National Radio (CNR) said. Details had emerged before then on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. CNOOC says the situation is now under control. The slick from the leak stretches for about 200 metres (650 feet), the radio station quoted a source at CNOOC as saying. CCTV state television also highlighted what it said was a lack of information about the cause of the accident, which may have resulted from corrosion of pipes. Han Xiaoping, director of the china5e.com website, which specialises in energy, said that failing to disclose timely information about the spill could have "serious consequences", according to CNR. "The Bohai is a closed sea so its ability to self-clean is limited," he said, adding the area also contains fish that are caught for human consumption.